PPI Board/Rules of Procedure

The Board has passed the rules of procedure on its meeting on the 03. March 2011,

• changed on 02. August 2011,
• changed on 06. December 2011,
• changed on 15. Mai 2012,
• changed on 21. February 2015,
• changed on 12. February 2016,
• changed on 25. April 2016,
• changed on 31. July 2016,
• changed on 17. June 2019,
• changed on 01. May 2023

§1 Board meetings

1. Regular board meetings will take place no less than once a month. At the end of each meeting the date and time of the next meeting will be announced.
2. Each board meeting is announced publicly
3. Extraordinary meetings can be called by any member of the board for urgent matters.
4. Alternative: If the board meeting is taking longer than 1:30 a break of 15 minutes is scheduled and the meeting adjournes.
5. If 3 board members (including alternate board members) are present the board makes quorum.

§2 Agenda

1. Every member of the Pirate Parties International can propose an agenda item to the board.
2. An agenda item shall be submitted 3 days ahead to the [[1]] of the meeting using [[2]] to be regularly tabled within the published Agenda.
3. The provisional agenda of the regular board meetings shall be published and send out to the Board before the meeting. Publishing the provisional agenda is responsibility of the Boards General Secretary.
4. New items to the agenda can be brought in during the meeting and will be discussed at the end of the scheduled Agenda.
5. Items on the agenda shall have foundational documents, descriptions or spreadsheets linked in the agenda where that is natural so members can prepare properly
6. Agenda approval: After approval of minutes from previous meeting (§ 6), the agenda of the meeting should be voted upon.
7. Approved items from the agenda, that are not closed on the meeting, are put on the next meeting agenda.

§3 Publicity

1. The board meetings are public, unless the board votes in favor of a non-public meeting. The decision to hold a non-public meeting has to be motivated.
2. Guests are allowed to speak up during a meeting if requested to do so by the chairman.
3. Guests can ask to take the stand.
4. Guests that disrupt the meeting can be excluded by the chairman.
5. The board meetings are recorded for historical & information purposes, if a participant requests that the meeting shall not to be recorded, a 2/3 majority vote from the board is required to do.

§4 Procedure

1. At the beginning of each meeting a chairman and secretary will be appointed.
2. The secretary of the meeting will write the meeting minutes.
3. The chair of the meeting moderates the discussions and makes sure the rules of procedure are respected.

§5 Votes

1. Only members of the board are entitled to vote.
2. Decisions are taken by a majority of board members present at the meeting.
3. Vote in absentia of the board members - The board members may vote in absentia using any of the following means:
   1. Updating the decision on the Project Management Referential with their vote.
   2. Using Discourse, Discord, Wire, or email to cast their votes.
   3. Emailing the board mailing list citing the object and their vote.
4. A tally of the vote shall be maintained in the decision record on the minutes saved in the PPI Wiki.
5. Board members not present at the meeting can vote on a proposal published in the provisional agenda by citing the proposal and expressing their vote in an e-mail sent to board@pp-international.net (postal vote) or casting a vote in Discourse, Discord, or Wire. The postal votes shall be added to the votes cast at the meeting if the proposals are exactly the same. The postal votes shall be mentioned in the provisional agenda and can be superseded by subsequent email, a change to the postal vote, or by a vote cast at the meeting.
   1. Board members may delegate their vote to another specific board member, or they may delegate their vote to an alternate board member. No alternate board member can hold more than one delegated vote. All board members who cannot attend should delegate their vote in advance.
   2. If a board member does not delegate their vote, the most senior ranking alternate board member will take the first undelegated absentee’s vote. Each additional absentee’s undelegated vote will be given to the next in line.
   3. If a board member is not present at the beginning of the meeting, the chair delegates that vote to an alternate board member. If the board member returns to the meeting, they could reclaim the vote for any further motions but not on votes that had already taken place, hence such delegation appears on a per-voting basis. If a board member is present at the beginning of the meeting but is no longer present when a new motion is presented that they have not indicated a delegated or postal vote, then that vote is delegated by the chair of the meeting to the next alternate board member present.
6. Any financial decisions can be made by the board with a 2/3 majority vote if the decision falls within the GA approved budget. Otherwise, the treasurer, or its designated deputy, has to pre-approve the financial engagement prior to the board meeting, during the 48 hour time period between the end of submission of regular agenda items and the board meeting.
7. Any decision related to political issues can be challenged in a referendum by 5 voting members of the PPI. An e-voting tally shall be organised congruant to the bylaws of PPI in the shortest possible timeframe using any of the following means:
   1. Updating the decision on the Project Management Referential (i.e. Discourse, Discord, or Wire) with their vote
   2. Using Discourse, Discord, Wire, or Email to cast their votes
   3. Emailing the board citing the object and their vote.
8. The duration of the vote will be no more of 1 week
9. Each Board shall present an approved vote of its members, according to the respective by-laws for each voting member, along with any resolutions designating a permanent delegate and a deputy.
10. If 3 board members (including alternate board members) are present, unanimous votes are necessary to approve a proposal. If 4 votes are present, 3 votes are still necessary to approve a decision. If more members are present, a majority of votes are necessary to approve the decision, with a minimum of 3 affirmative votes.
11. Abstentions do not count against a majority vote.

§6 Meeting minutes

1. The minutes of the meeting will be published before the next meeting and not later than 48 hours prior to the next scheduled meeting.
2. The General Secretary is responsible for publishing the meeting minutes and links to the published meeting recordings on the PPI wiki.
3. The minutes of the meeting are resolution minutes and contain the wording of motions and resolutions that had been voted on. In case of an non-public meeting the minutes contain instead the motivated resolution to have the non-public meeting (ref §4.1). Any board member can submit within 24 hours after the meeting a text of personal statement to the minutes explaining his or her particular vote to a motion or resolution.
4. The minutes of the meeting should be approved by a vote on the start of next meeting.

§7 Tasks

1. All decisions, projects and tasks must have one single person named as responsible. Said person is also responsible for establishing the task and inputting it into a task management system. (not yet selected)
2. By the end of their term of office, each board member should create a text report of their activities.
3. Any member of the board can approve the application for a supporting membership.

§7a Code of Conduct Manifesto

1. Respect for Diversity & Inclusion

We avoid comments, actions or propaganda that encourages discrimination related to gender, gender expression, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, sexual characteristics, physical appearance, disability, or age.

1. Respect Freedom of Expression

We support an individual’s freedom of expression and will strive to better understand each other by not assuming experiences or beliefs, clarifying meanings, and making an effort to speak clearly, avoiding jargon and acronyms.

1. Commitment to Non-Violence

We will not engage in any type of violence or aggression, including verbal threats or complaints, intimidation, stalking or harassment, whether physically or psychologically.

1. Rejection of Sexual Harassment

We understand sexual harassment as unwanted physical contact or insinuation of a sexual nature, as well as displaying images, drawings or visual representations of any kind that objectify members of any gender or reinforce oppression.

1. Respect for Privacy

Safeguard the privacy of members, individuals and participants in PPI events, and agree to follow the Code of Conduct as well as the CoC Council’s recommendations.

1. Facilitate Participation & Collaboration

We work to create an environment that facilitates participation for all participants, and that session presenters are given respect. We will not engage in sustained disruption of sessions or events, interrupt conversations in a way that negatively impacts collaboration, or engage in toxic behaviors to attract negative attention to an attendee.

1. We Care about the Integrity and Health of the Community

We value the health of the community and will not engage in behavior that can negatively impact it.

1. Support Positive Interactions Among members

We are committed to engaging constructively with others at all times. We will not tolerate bullying, including requesting or mobilizing others, either in person or online, to bully others.

§8 General provisions

1. These rules of procedure can be modified at any time by the board.
2. These rules of procedure are immediately applicable.

Annotation: Chair/man in the text above is the Chairman of the meeting.